This invention relates to solar energy collectors, and more specifically to a solar collector configured for improved space efficiency.
Solar energy collectors typically include a number of solar panels, which in turn include a number of individual solar cells. Various solar collectors are known in the prior art. Conventional wisdom dictates that a solar panel must be oriented to present as much surface area as possible to sunlight, and that the incident sunlight must be normal to the solar panel for maximum effectiveness or efficiency. Whether this is true or not, the practical effect of this thinking is that conventional solar collectors require large areas of land or roof on which to mount them. In other words, according to the prior art, every square foot of exposed solar panel requires a square foot of ground to put it on. This requirement for large area has been a major factor retarding the development of solar energy as a significant power source.
It is an object of this invention to provide a solar energy collector with a ratio of "solar panel surface area" to "required space area" significantly higher than that of solar collectors known in the prior art.